Written Answers Tuesday 23 January 2007

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much compensation has been paid under the sea eagle reintroduction programme to farmers on Mull for loss of lambs in each financial year since the inception of the programme.

Sarah Boyack: Responsibility for the distribution of compensation to farmers impacted by the sea eagle reintroduction programme on Mull lies with SNH rather than Scottish ministers. As indicated in the following table, such compensation payments by SNH were discontinued after 2003, in favour of a positive incentive scheme for the management of sea eagles and golden eagles in Mull.

  

 Year
 Compensation Payments


 1997-98
 5,925


 1998-99
 7,081


 1999-2000
 6,123


 2000-01
 5,027


 2001-02
 4,979


 2002-03
 4,979


 2003-04
 discontinued

Asylum Seekers

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors asylum seeker children to ensure that they receive appropriate education opportunities and provision.

Robert Brown: Under the Standards in Scotland’s Schools Act 2000 every child, including asylum seeking and refugee children, has a right to school education provided by an education authority. The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 requires education authorities to identify, meet and keep under review the additional support needs of all pupils who require support to access and benefit from education. To help ensure that all asylum seeker and refugee children get the education to which they are entitled, the Executive has produced an education guide which provides new arrivals with information on how the Scottish education system works and relevant contact details.

  The Executive collects data on the number of asylum seekers and refugees in Scottish schools and on their educational attainment. We have also commissioned research to assess the experiences of the children of asylum seekers in our schools, and the policies employed by local authorities to support their learning, and we expect the findings to be published shortly.

  In addition, the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 places duties on local authorities relative to the provision of services to safeguard and promote the welfare for children in their area who are in need. The fieldwork for the first joint inspection of children’s services for asylum seekers in Glasgow took place in the autumn. The inspection will assess the quality of all such services, including education provision. We expect to receive the formal report of the inspection shortly and will inform Parliament of its findings.

Asylum Seekers

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the role of Scottish children’s services is in relation to asylum seeker children and how this has been affected by the protocol between the Executive and the Home Office.

Robert Brown: All asylum seeker children have the same right to help and support as other children – to get access to health, education and other services from local service providers.

  We continue to implement the provisions of the March 2006 Agreement with the Home Office, which focuses mainly on the removal of failed asylum seekers and their children. The package agreed will mean that the rights, needs and interests of children in asylum seeker families are given earlier and on-going consideration.

Asylum Seekers

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to report to the Parliament on the structure and functioning of the protocol between it and the Home Office on asylum seeker children.

Robert Brown: The Executive has committed to keeping Parliament fully informed of progress with the March Agreement – and we will report when key measures are implemented. We will, for example, inform Parliament of the findings of the autumn 2006 joint inspection of services for asylum seeker children once ministers receive the formal report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education. We expect to receive the formal report shortly.

Child Care

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) three and (b) four-year-olds are in receipt of (i) pre-school child care provision or (ii) nursery education.

Robert Brown: In January 2006, the latest date for which figures are available, it is estimated that 96% of eligible three-year-olds and 99% of four-year-olds were registered for pre-school education. As children are counted at each centre where they are registered, children who attend more than one centre will be counted more than once.

  There were 51,610 registrations for three-year-olds and 55,690 registrations for four year olds at a pre-school education or day care centre in January 2006, with a further 3,050 registrations of three-year-olds and 2,840 registrations of four-year-olds attending a childminder. As children are counted once for each centre or childminder that they attend, these figures include double counting. It is not possible to disaggregate the figures further to produce figures for the number of children taking up child care and pre-school education as the figures are based on the settings children attend rather than the services each child receives.

  The figures are published in the Pre-School and Childcare Statistics 2006 (Bib. number 40411).

Child Care

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it provides to local authorities in relation to determining the criteria used to agree partnerships with private or voluntary sector nurseries.

Robert Brown: The Scottish Executive issued the Guidance on Commissioning Pre-School Education Partners  in July 2003, which advises that authorities should provide clear guidance on the conditions that will be applied in selecting partner providers.

  The Guidance on Pre-School Education, issued in 2002, also includes some general advice on commissioning pre-school places from other providers.

  Both documents are available on the Scottish Executive website:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/08/gpse/1.

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2003/07/17851/23766.

  Following Ministerial commitments made in the Scottish Executive response to the National Review of the Early Years and Childcare Workforce (Bib. number 40193), both guidance documents are currently under review.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing People

Mr Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) analogue and (b) digital hearing aids have been issued since May 2003, broken down by (i) NHS board area, (ii) month and (iii) year.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally. However, Information Services Division is currently working with NHS boards to collect relevant data.

  All audiology services now fit digital hearing aids as standard and analogue aids are being phased out, except where they are the most clinically effective option. The audiology modernisation project has been instrumental in facilitating the fitting of more than 50,000 digital hearing aids across Scotland since May 2003.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing People

Mr Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of aftercare and support, such as counselling and lip-reading classes, is provided to (a) analogue and (b) digital hearing aid users upon prescription, broken down by (i) NHS board area, (ii) month and (iii) year.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not currently held centrally. On support for counselling and lip-reading generally, I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-30235 on 14 December 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Elections

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to any possibility that the public information campaign for the new local government electoral system will lead to confusion in respect of the constituency section of the ballot for the Scottish parliamentary elections, given that this will now be the only election involving marking a single "x", and what representations have been made to the (a) Scotland Office and (b) Electoral Commission to ensure that the public remains well-informed for participation in all levels of democracy.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive is working closely with the independent Electoral Commission to deliver a joint information campaign for the 2007 elections. We consider that because the local government and Scottish parliamentary elections are combined, a joint public information campaign is likely to be more effective. The Electoral Commission has statutory responsibility for the promotion of the Scottish parliamentary elections.

  The primary aim of the campaign is to spread awareness of and information about the forthcoming elections to ensure that people who want to vote are able to do so in May. A vital element of this will be explaining the two different voting systems being used on 3 May. The campaign plan and content are based on research into current knowledge of the voting systems and are designed to minimise any confusion on how to vote. The effectiveness of the campaign will be monitored throughout.

  The Scotland Office has no official role in the public information campaign, however, they are kept aware of the development of the campaign through their participation in the 2007 Elections Steering Group.

Elections

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make its formal response to the Commission on Boundary Differences and Voting Systems (Arbuthnott Commission) Report, Putting Citizens First: Boundaries, Voting and Representation in Scotland, published on 19 January 2006.

Mr Jack McConnell: The Executive has separate responses to four recommendations of the Arbuthnott Report, which are set out as follows:

  The majority of the other recommendations of the Arbuthnott Report relate to reserved matters, and the Scotland Office is today responding to these separately on behalf of the UK Government. Other recommendations in the report fall to be considered by the Electoral Commission and the Scottish Parliament.

  Recommendation 2. The boundaries for Scottish Parliamentary constituencies should be within and respect local authority areas rather than Westminster constituencies.

  Recommendation 4. The functions of the Boundary Commission for Scotland and the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland should be combined to enable the constituencies and regions for the Scottish Parliament and local authorities to be reviewed together. Consideration should also be given to integrating the review of Westminster constituencies in Scotland into this process.

  The approach advocated in the report is consistent with the aims of the Scottish Executive’s public service reform agenda and there could be benefits from aligning boundaries as proposed. The Scottish Executive is currently looking at the long-term options for reform across a range of public bodies in Scotland, including local authorities. Any action which might need to be taken by the UK Government, including consideration of possible new structures for the regions for Scottish Parliament elections or any future review of constituency boundaries, would only be after the question of any need for changes had been considered by the new Scottish administration.

  Recommendation 12. The Scottish Parliament and local government elections should not be held on the same day.

  The Executive has noted the Arbuthnott Commission’s conclusion and recommendation, but remains of the view that it is in the best interests of the voters and turnout that these elections should continue to be combined.

  Recommendation 21. No pupil should leave school without having had an introduction to the voting systems and the work of the parliaments, in the context of Education for Citizenship.

  The Scottish Executive has endorsed the recommendation that young people leaving school should have a good understanding of voting and parliamentary democracy. The current review of the curriculum in Scotland, A Curriculum for Excellence, aims to prioritise and simplify existing curricular guidance.

  The aspiration is that all young people should be given the opportunity to develop as responsible citizens with a capacity to participate fully in political, economic, social and cultural life. It is envisaged that there will be a range of areas through which an understanding of voting and parliamentary democracy could be developed.

Fire Service

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what restrictions there are on local authorities making resources available to fire and rescue boards.

Johann Lamont: Within the scope of the local government settlement, local authorities can choose what priority to attach to the provision of fire and rescue services over other services for which they have responsibility.

Fire Service

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities have the authority to "top up" fire and rescue boards’ funding for functions that are delegated to such boards.

Johann Lamont: Yes, subject to the need to ensure that public funds are used appropriately and that any such top up represents value for money.

Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) coronary artery bypass operations and (b) percutaneous coronary interventions took place in the NHS in each year since 2000-01, also broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on the numbers of discharges from acute general hospitals involving an operation of coronary artery bypass graft or angioplasty (percutaneous coronary intervention) for years ended 31 March 2001-2006 by NHS board of treatment is published on ISD Scotland’s website at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/files/Annual_trends_in_surgical_procedures_hbt_November2006.xls.

  Information for the year ended 31 March 2006 is provisional.

Health

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it issues to NHS boards in relation to sharing information about patients who require to transfer to another NHS board area for further treatment.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS patients in Scotland may receive treatment outside their NHS board of residence for a range of reasons, including accessing services at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital and highly specialised (tertiary) services at the major teaching centres. Many thousands of patients receive treatment outwith their board of residence each year.

  NHS Quality Improvement Scotland works with NHS boards to improve the quality of health care by reducing variation in practice and outcome, through developing and disseminating national clinical guidelines containing recommendations for effective practice based on current evidence. This covers guidance on referrals, including referrals to services in other board areas.

  The NHS in Scotland is increasingly using information technology to support effective practice by enabling electronic transmission of referrals from any GP practice to any hospital in Scotland using standard forms. The intention is to provide the same facility for referrals between consultants, including referrals to services in different board areas.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have contracted MRSA during treatment at Aberdeen hospitals in each year since 2004, broken down by hospital.

Mr Andy Kerr: Health Protection Scotland published the latest figures on MRSA bacteraemia (blood infection) rates on 16 January 2007. A copy of this report is available from:

  http://www.documents.hps.scot.nhs.uk/hai/sshaip/publications/mrsa-quarterly-reports/jan-2003-to-sept-2006.pdf.

  The numbers of reported MRSA bacteraemias for NHS Grampian since 2004 are laid out in the following table. Hospital specific information is not held centrally.

  MRSA bacteraemia rates have remained stable in Scotland as a whole and in Grampian since national mandatory reporting began in 2003.

  

 
 MRSA Bacteraemia


 2004
 61


 2005
 64


 2006 (to September)
 65



  As part of our drive to improve surveillance, compulsory reporting of all Staphylococcus aureus infection in addition to MRSA was introduced in July 2006. This has increased detection rates and will enable more effective targeting of measures to reduce these infections.

  Wide-ranging measures to address healthcare associated infection (HAI), set in place by the HAI Task Force, include a media campaign to raise awareness amongst NHS staff, patients, visitors and the public of the benefits of improved hand hygiene to public health. Local health board co-ordinators are being appointed to help implement and monitor compliance. Additional training courses for NHS staff, and robust monitoring of the standards of cleaning in Scotland’s hospitals are also part of the task force’s delivery plan.

Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its precise timetable is for the commencement of outstanding sections 25 to 29 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990.

Johann Lamont: Sections 25-29 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 provides for rights of audience and rights to conduct litigation to be granted to members of professional or other bodies which meet the criteria described in the legislation. The commencement of these sections is expected to take place in March 2007, in tandem with section 61 of the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill 2006, which contains a provision to remove a defect related to the provisions on rights to conduct litigation.

Local Government

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all inspections and audits of local authorities that have to be undertaken or commissioned by it or any of its agencies and how often each requires to be carried out.

Mr Tom McCabe: Responsibility for the timing and frequency of inspections and audits rests with the independent and external scrutiny bodies, which report either to the Scottish Parliament or Scottish ministers.

  A mapping exercise into the external scrutiny arrangements for public services (including local authorities) in Scotland is being carried out as part of the independent review of current arrangements for scrutiny in Scotland, chaired by Professor Lorne Crerar. Professor Crerar is due to report in summer 2007.

Local Government

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all performance indicators that it requires local authorities to meet.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Accounts Commission has a statutory responsibility to specify information that councils must publish about their performance, in the form of statutory performance indicators. Information on these performance indicators can be found on Audit Scotland’s website:

  http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/performance/.

Local Government Finance

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish any responses it has received from each local authority following its Grant Aided Expenditure announcement.

Mr Tom McCabe: The substantive response to the 2007-08 provisional local government finance settlement announcement on 13 December 2006 was given in a letter from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities President, Councillor Pat Watters, on behalf of local authorities. A copy of the letter was included in the information pack circulated to all MSPs immediately following the statement.

  No further substantive responses have been received from individual local authorities on the settlement announcement.

Local Government Finance

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total funding allocated for primary medical services was in Orkney in each year since 1996-97.

Mr Andy Kerr: Details are as follows:

  

 
£ Million


 1996-97
 2.08


 1997-98
 1.974


 1998-99
 2.238


 1999-2000
 2.335


 2000-01
 2.595


 2001-02
 2.728


 2002-03
 2.851


 2003-04
 3.726


 2004-05
 3.886


 2005-06
 3.884


 2006-07
 4.413

Local Government Finance

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what total amount of aggregate external finance (AEF) was paid to Orkney Islands Council in each year since 1995-96 (a) in actual terms and (b) at 1996 prices.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is shown in the following table.

  

 
AEF
(£ Million)
AEF at 1995-96 Prices
(£ Million)


1995-96
37.539
37.539


1996-97
37.977
36.740


1997-98
38.208
35.919


1998-99
39.508
36.221


1999-2000
40.424
36.326


2000-01
40.306
35.718


2001-02
43.119
37.325


2002-03
46.212
38.802


2003-04
49.410
40.289


2004-05
52.331
41.527


2005-06
54.836
42.718


2006-07
58.510
44.389



  The AEF figures used above are actuals as announced in the annual Local Government Finance settlements and have not been adjusted for transfers of responsibility.

NHS 24

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time is to answer a call to NHS 24 and, if triage by NHS 24 were to replace the current 999 system, what it estimates the average (a) response time and (b) length of time it would take to complete a call would be, and whether 999 calls would be given a priority rating.

Mr Andy Kerr: The average length of time for NHS 24 to answer a call is currently three seconds.

  There are no plans to redirect 999 emergency ambulance calls to NHS 24 – calls will continue to be answered by the Scottish Ambulance Service’s emergency medical dispatch centres. Scottish Ambulance Service call handlers will continue to use the clinical algorithms that support decisions about the priority of the call and the nature of the response that is required.

  The vast majority of emergency ambulance calls require an ambulance to be sent, but there are a number that do not. At present, a caller who does not require an ambulance may be asked to hang up and contact their own GP or NHS 24. In future, it will be possible for the call details to be passed electronically to NHS 24, to enable an appropriate advisor to call the patient back without the patient having to repeat the information that he or she has already provided.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why it started a process of reviewing nursing in the community and committing public funds to it before the recommendations of Nursing for Health: A review of the contribution of nurses, midwives and health visitors to improving the public’s health in Scotland and Nursing For Health: Two Years On had been implemented.

Mr Andy Kerr: We are not moving away from the recommendations in Nursing for Health –Two Years On , rather we are building on it. The two overriding messages in Nursing for Health are that all nurses should base their practice on Public Health principles and specific programmes should target those most in need. This is in line with the role of the proposed community health nurse.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , whether it considers that the timescale for the review was sufficient and what the reasons are for the length of time (a) taken for and (b) given to implement the review.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Review of Nursing in the Community commenced in December 2005 with the report of the Review published on 14 November 2006. The timescale for the review was sufficient to enable the following to be undertaken:

  A scoping exercise of current community nursing services.

  A literature review.

  Workshops in health boards areas for all community nurses and managers.

  Examination of different models of nursing in the community.

  Development of a new model.

  On-going consultation with services users and professional groups.

  Develop conclusions and recommendations.

  Publish a report.

  The recommendations from the review will be piloted in four development sites over the next two years which will address the implications of the proposed model and highlight any further work to be done. Any further implementation will take several years.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , whether feedback from professional bodies, practitioners, higher education institutions and professional organisations informed the final outcome of the review; what the reasons are for its position on the matter, and why evidence from these bodies and organisations was not published.

Mr Andy Kerr: A formal written consultation process was not carried out. There was on-going involvement of key stakeholders, patients and carers and professional groups which informed the process and outcome.

  Consultation with key stakeholders was an integral part of the entire review process. In light of the comments received the report was redrafted and more information was provided on the evidence collected. An additional "core element" was added to the Practice Framework, however, the model was not changed as we believe it is the right way forward for patients, carers and nurses.

  All comments received have been collated and summarised and are available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/NHS-Scotland/nursing/communitynursing/homepage.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , how it envisages that the proposed new generic role of community nurses will address issues such as early intervention and preventative work as part of the public health agenda.

Mr Andy Kerr: All nurses have a role to play in improving the health of the people of Scotland. We need to harness the whole nursing resource, not just one element of it. We are enhancing the quality of that resource with the introduction of the community health nurse.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , how practitioners will be supported in their current practice and in implementing the recommendations of the report.

Mr Andy Kerr: The new model for community nursing will be piloted in four NHS boards over the next two years. This will allow for further testing of the implications of the model and highlight further work that needs to be done. The development project, which will include higher education institutes and NHS Education for Scotland, will also look at educational needs of existing and new staff.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , whether community health nurses will be a hybrid of community nurses in the home and public health nurses; if so, to which community nursing specialists they will make referrals and, if referrals will be to the existing community specialist practitioners, what steps will be taken to ensure that such practitioners are fully prepared for referrals.

Mr Andy Kerr: The district, public health (health visiting and school nursing) and family health nursing disciplines will be absorbed into a new, single community health nursing discipline sitting in a wider team of specialist nurses. Development sites in four NHS boards will consider the referral process.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , how one generic nurse can be skilled in all aspects of community nursing, given that clinical care always takes precedence over illness prevention and the promotion of health.

Mr Andy Kerr: Health improvement is one of Scotland’s priorities and the Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community describes in detail how community health nurses will contribute to health promotion, anticipatory care and protecting the public, including work with families and children. The proposed community health nurse will have a dual health improvement and disease management remit, delivered through an integrated team network, including social work and other specialist nurses.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of  Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , whether there is evidence that the current community specialist practitioner qualification is not operating effectively and what evidence underpins the decision to discontinue the qualification.

Mr Andy Kerr: It is not the Executive’s intention to discontinue the community specialist practitioner qualification. The educational requirements of the new community health nurse and of existing staff will be considered as part of the development process conducted over the next two years.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , what appraisal of existing community nursing practice has been undertaken.

Mr Andy Kerr: Project officers began liaising with individual NHS boards in late 2005. From the start of 2006 two reference groups – practitioners and patients/carers – and a steering group examined the best way forward for the future of nursing in the community. The work of these groups was complemented and informed by a wide range of workshops which took place across the country in the first half of 2006. Furthermore, two conferences were held allowing a wide range of practitioners the opportunity to inform the draft model. The draft report of the review was circulated for comment from 6 June with responses invited by 23 June 2006. All responses which missed this deadline were nonetheless considered.

  A consideration of the policy drivers of care provision was undertaken by the review team as well as an examination of international models of nursing in the community. A literature review was also conducted by Napier University.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , how the Executive will ensure that generalist community health nurses retain similar caseloads to district nurses and health visitors.

Mr Andy Kerr: The size of each community health nurse’s caseload is something which would be decided at NHS board level and will initially be tested in the development sites over the next two years.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , how the Executive will ensure that community health nurses adequately prioritise child protection.

Mr Andy Kerr: The new community health nurse will have the necessary skills to adequately prioritise child protection. Local teams will continue to have access to expert skills to provide support and the four development sites will explore how these services are arranged.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland and as community health nurses will undertake some aspects of the current district nursing and health visiting roles, who will undertake (a) the remaining elements of these roles and (b) the role of (i) community learning disability nurses, (ii) community mental health nurses, (iii) community children’s nurses, (iv) occupational health nurses, (v) general practice nurses and (vi) school nurses.

Mr Andy Kerr: We are not removing the services district nurses and health visitors provide. We are changing how they are organised and educated to help them to provide high quality services to meet the health needs of Scotland in the 21st Century. To mark this change, the new nurses will be called community health nurses (CHN), which we feel reflects their role more accurately. The CHN will absorb the current district nursing, public health (health visiting and school nursing) and family health nursing disciplines and will sit in a wider multi-disciplinary, multi-agency context. The model is based on a team approach which should not be made up exclusively of nursing staff. For example, the team may include social work skills and independent sector colleagues as appropriate. The skill mix of each CHN team will vary according to the needs of the local area in which it is based. CHN will refer to specialist services (including community learning disability nurses, community mental health nurses, community children’s nurses, occupational health nurses and many others) where appropriate. The development sites will help to identify the interface between the services provided by the model and those provided by others.

  General practice nurses are not covered by the model, but will be important partners of those working within the new service model.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , whether the Nursing and Midwifery Council has been involved in the development of the new role of community nurse.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) responded to the draft of the review report that was circulated in June 2006 and have been kept updated as the review has progressed. Discussions with the NMC will continue as work in the development sites progresses.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , why no reference has been made to existing Nursing and Midwifery Council standards or documents.

Mr Andy Kerr: Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) standards underpin the practice of every nurse. Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland should be read alongside Delivering Care, Enabling Health which discusses NMC fitness for practice of registrants at the point of registration. The NMC is carrying out an on-going review of fitness for practice of registrants at the point of registration and the Executive’s Facing the Future sub-group on student attrition will take account of the NMC’s recommendations. Nurse recruitment and retention are key elements in the shift of care delivery from hospital to community based care.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , whether the Minister for Health and Community Care took into account the existing community specialist qualification framework when stating that the review "presents a refreshingly honest analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of current nursing services in the community".

Mr Andy Kerr: The review took cognisance of the community specialist qualification framework. NHS Education Scotland and Skills for Health will undertake a review of the competencies and capabilities of the new community health nurse and the Nursing and Midwifery Council will determine whether or not they meet the requirements for the existing specialist practitioner register.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , what evidence there is to support the suggestion that the generalist model of practice will be more effective in community nursing.

Mr Andy Kerr: The review based the community health nurse model on evidence from:

  Workshops which explored what nurses working in the community are good at and their frustrations, as well as what they could do in the future in terms of Delivering for Health.

  Workshops with users and carers.

  A consideration of the current model of service delivery as well as other models of nursing roles, namely the generic role of the family health nurse and community matrons.

  A consideration of the policy drivers of care provision.

  The literature review conducted by Napier University.

  The results from WHO Europe researchers who conducted a multi-national evaluation across all countries taking part in the family health nurse pilot.

  Two conferences involving a range of practitioners, nurses and other managers, educationalists and other stakeholders.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , what educational framework supports the proposed generalist model for community nursing.

Mr Andy Kerr: The review recognised that the educational needs of both new community health nurses and current practitioners, who need to broaden their skills, are challenging. Skills for Health will have already done some of this work. Higher education institutes and NHS Education for Scotland (NHS NES) will also be central to this process. The Executive will work closely with NHS NES who are leading a project to look at the capabilities and competencies that current staff will need to acquire to take on the role.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland and given that the review suggests that clients will become central to the delivery of community nursing, what evidence there is that this has not always been the case.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive acknowledges that community nurses put the needs of patients/clients at the forefront of delivery. However, patients and carers told us that they wanted one single point of contact with nursing services. They told us that they found having to deal with a number of different nurses confusing and frustrating and these opinions were fundamental to the development of the new service model.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , how the public was represented in the review.

Mr Andy Kerr: A patient and carers reference group met several times during the review process. A patients’ representative was also invited onto the review steering group. Members of the public were also given the opportunity to comment on earlier drafts of the review report and revisions were made in light of their comments. Two conferences were held which allowed practitioners and invited members of the public to inform the draft model. A section of the Scottish Executive website outlining the review also gave people the chance to submit comments electronically.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Visible, Accessible and Integrated Care - Report of the Review of Nursing in the Community in Scotland , how the impact of changes to the delivery of community nursing on the existing workforce will be managed.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive will commission a workforce project which, amongst other things, will look to develop national workforce/workload measurement tools.

Pensions

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether war pensions and gratuities can be disregarded by local authorities when means testing access to local services.

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities disregard the first £10 of a war pension when assessing income in the context of access to local services.

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any statutory basis for disregarding war pensions or war gratuities or parts thereof when income is being assessed in the context of access to services provided by local authorities, provided either by the local authority alone or in partnership with other agencies.

Mr Tom McCabe: There is a statutory disregard of the first £10 of a war pension in the assessment, by local authorities, of eligibility for access to some local services. These include the charging for residential accommodation and the assessment of eligibility for housing and council tax benefits.

  There is also provision, under the housing and council tax benefits regulations, for local authorities to allow a further discretionary disregard at their own expense. This discretionary disregard is a matter for each individual local authority.

  There are no current plans to change the rules relating to the disregard of war pensions. Any plans to change the regulations relating to housing and council tax benefits would be a matter for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) as such benefits are reserved to the UK Government.

Public Expenditure

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in respect of its estimates in Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland, what assumptions are made about the estimated multiplier effect on the Scottish economy of identifiable expenditure by the UK Government, other than the monies used to fund devolved services in Scotland.

Mr Tom McCabe: The purpose of Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland (GERS) is to estimate, using the most rigorous statistical information and techniques available, the actual public expenditures and revenues for Scotland.

  The economic impacts of expenditures and revenues are beyond the scope of the analysis and would not be appropriate to include.

Public Private Partnerships

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-27816 by Mr Tom McCabe on 11 September 2006, whether it will provide, for each approved Scottish PFI/PPP project listed on its Financial Partnership Unit’s website, information on (a) the initial cost, (b) the annual payments related, (c) the total payments made and due, (d) the contract period, (e) the ownership of assets created, (f) the additional charges made and, for projects where additional charges have been made, whether it will provide details of why such charges were incurred.

Mr Tom McCabe: For (a) and (d) I refer the member to the Scottish Executive Financial Partnerships Unit’s website where the information can be found at http//: www.scotland.gov.uk/ppp . The initial cost of a PPP project has been interpreted as the capital value which is defined as "the public sector procuring body’s estimate of the capital value of the property the private sector purchases or creates for delivering services under a PFI contract."

  For (b) and (c) I refer the member to the following table A for the information requested from 1999-2000 to 2005-06. I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-28685, on 18 October 2006, for the information requested from 2006-07 to 2030-31, and the answer to question S2W-30414 on 19 December 2006, for the information requested from 2031-32 to 2040-41. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search. I also refer the member to the following table B for the information requested as two further projects have just recently reached financial close.

  The unitary charge is the amount paid by the public sector procuring body to the private sector consortium for the services it provides over the length of the contract. The services include capital construction, lifecycle maintenance and facilities management, and not just the upfront construction cost of the asset.

  For (e), the assets that are improved or created in a PFI/PPP contract are returned to the public sector at the end of the contract period which is typically up to 30 years. PFI/PPP contracts put the onus on the contractor during the term of the contract to maintain the asset properly so that when the asset does revert to the public sector there is no significant maintenance required for up to five years thereafter.

  For (f), there are three PFI/PPP contracts that the Executive has entered into and which are operational, these are the M6 DBFO, the M77/GSO and HMP Kilmarnock. For HMP Kilmarnock, no additional charges have been made. For the M6 DBFO, the additional charges made after the Agreement was signed were £1,833,797 for new works and £29,872 for operations and maintenance. For the M77/GSO an additional one-off charge of £395,000 was made to the Concessionaire and is a reconciliation of both Company changes, East Renfrewshire Council (Employer) changes and the sharing of Value for Money initiatives permitted under the agreement during the New Works phase of the agreement.

  There are provisions within the contract for changes to be made in accordance with prescribed change procedures. Information on any additional charges made by other PFI/PPP contracts is not collected by the Executive as it is the responsibility of the relevant public sector procuring body.

  Table A

  

 Project Name
1999-2000
(£ Million)
2000-01
(£ Million)
2001-02
(£ Million)
2002-03
(£ Million)
2003-04
(£ Million)


 Local Authorities
 
 
 
 
 


 Schools
 
 
 
 
 


 Balfron 
 
 
 3.5
 3.5
 2.5


 East Renfrewshire 
 
 
 2.8
 2.8
 2.9


 Glasgow 
 
 
 7.0
 35.8
 41.3


 Falkirk 
 
 11.7
 11.8
 12.0
 12.1


 Fife 
 
 
 
 
 4.2


 Highland 
 
 
 
 1.8
 2.9


 West Lothian 
 
 
 
 4.6
 6.2


 Aberdeenshire 
 
 
 0.2
 2.4
 3.0


 Edinburgh 
 
 
 
 13.4
 18.0


 Midlothian 
 
 
 
 
 2


 East Lothian 
 
 
 
 
 


 Aberdeenshire PPP2
 
 
 
 
 


 East Renfrewshire PPP2
 
 
 
 
 


 Renfrewshire 
 
 
 
 
 


 North Lanarkshire 
 
 
 
 
 


 Argyll and Bute 
 
 
 
 
 


 Fife PPP2
 
 
 
 
 


 East Ayrshire 
 
 
 
 
 


 Highland PPP2
 
 
 
 
 


 Midlothian PPP2
 
 
 
 
 


 North Ayrshire 
 
 
 
 
 


 South Lanarkshire 
 
 
 
 
 


 Stirling 
 
 
 
 
 


 IT
 
 
 
 
 


 Moray Council - Integrated Education Management Service
 2.0
 2.1
 2.1
 2.2
 1.8


 Highland Council - IS/IT Services 
 5.8
 5.2
 4.3
 4.3
 4.2


 Waste
 
 
 
 
 


 Argyll and Bute Waste Management
 
 
 2.4
 3.8
 4.1


 Baldovie Waste to Energy Plant 
 0.8
 2.4
 2.5
 2.5
 2.6


 Dumfries and Galloway Waste Management
 
 
 
 
 


 Roads
 
 
 
 
 


 Angus A92 Road Upgrading
 
 
 
 
 


 Other
 
 
 
 
 


 Perth and Kinross Council Office Accommodation 
 0.8
 2.0
 2.0
 2.1
 2.2


 Water and Sewerage
 
 
 
 
 


 Inverness Main Drainage/Fort William Sewage Treatment 
 7.1
 7.4
 7.0
 7.1
 7.0


 Tay Waste Water Project
 
 
 8.2
 19.4
 18.4


 Aberdeen sewage and sludge treatment 
 
 
 2.5
 14.5
 13.5


 Moray Coast Waste Water Project
 
 
 
 6.0
 10.3


 Almond Valley, Esk Valley and Seafield Sewage Scheme
 
 
 
 17.7
 18.3


 Levenmouth Purification Scheme
 
 
 
 2.7
 7.7


 Dalmuir Sewage Treatment
 
 
 
 6.7
 7.0


 Daldowie/Shieldhall Sludge Treatment Centres 
 
 
 
 5.4
 14.3


 Meadowhead Sewage Treatment 
 
 
 
 8.2
 11.2


 Further and Higher Education
 
 
 
 
 


 Stirling College
 0.5
 0.5
 0.5
 0.5
 0.6


 West Lothian college
 
 
 2.5
 3.2
 3.0


 North Ayrshire college
 
 1.1
 1.3
 1.3
 1.3


 Health¹
 
 
 
 
 


 NHS Dumfries and Galloway – Daycare and Maternity Unit
 
 
 0.2
 1.3
 1.3


 NHS Highland Easter Ross County Community Hospital
 
 
 
 
 


 NHS Lanarkshire - Bupa Care Homes
 
 
 
 
 3.4


 NHS Lanarkshire – Stonehouse Hospital
 
 
 
 
 


 NHS Lanarkshire – Hairmyres Hospital
 
 
 
 
 


 NHS Lanarkshire – Wishaw Hospital
 
 
 
 
 


 NHS Lanarkshire Acute Hospital HISS
 
 
 
 
 0.5


 NHS Lothian - Ferryfield House
 
 
 
 
 0.9


 NHS Lothian - Ellen’s Glen House
 
 
 
 
 0.9


 NHS Lothian - Findlay House
 
 
 
 
 0.5


 NHS Lothian – New Royal Infirmary Edinburgh
 
 
 4.7
 18.4
 37.8


 NHS Lothian - HIS
 
 
 
 
 0.8


 NHS Lothian - PACS
 
 
 
 
 


 NHS Lothian - Tippethill
 
 0.4
 0.8
 0.9
 0.9


 NHS Greater Glasgow - South Glasgow Hospital 210 bed DME unit
 
 
 
 
 2.6


 NHS Greater Glasgow – South Glasgow Hospital HIS
 
 
 
 
 0.7


 NHS Greater Glasgow Yorkhill HIS
 
 
 
 
 0.7


 NHS Greater Glasgow - Gartnaval Royal Hospital
 
 
 
 
 


 NHS Greater Glasgow - Stobhill and Victoria ACADs
 
 
 
 
 


 NHS Tayside - small projects
 
 
 
 
 0.3


 NHS Tayside - Carseview
 
 
 1.6
 1.6
 1.7


 NHS Tayside – Forfar
 
 
 
 
 


 NHS Argyll and Clyde – Larkfield
 
 
 
 
 1.4


 NHS Ayshire and Arran – Crosshouse
 
 
 
 
 2.1


 NHS Ayrshire and Arran - East Ayrshire Community Hospital Cumnock 
 
 0.9
 1.4
 1.4
 1.4


 NHS Highland - New Craigs Hospital
 
 2.2
 3.2
 3.1
 3.2


 NHS Grampian Kincardine Community Hospital
 
 
 
 
 1.9


 NHS Argyll and Clyde – Mid Argyll Community Hospital
 
 
 
 
 


 NHS Greater Glasgow - Stobhill Forensic Unit
 
 
 
 
 


 Justice ²
 
 
 
 
 


 National Roads and Transport
 
 
 
 
 


 M6 DBFO
 21.3
 22.1
 20.0
 21.9
 20.7


 M77/Glasgow Southern Orbital Road (SE/East Renfrewshire) 3
 
 
 
 
 0.6


 Social Work
 
 
 
 
 


 SCRA - Integrated Information System 
 1.1
 1.1
 1.9
 2.5
 3.0


 Other
 
 
 
 
 


 Police Force Training Centre, East Kilbride
 
 
 2.9
 3.0
 3.1



  

 Project Name
2004-05
(£ Million)
2005-06
(£ Million)


 Local Authorities
 
 


 Schools
 
 


 Balfron 
 2.6
 2.6


 East Renfrewshire 
 2.9
 2.9


 Glasgow 
 42.1
 42.9


 Falkirk 
 12.3
 12.4


 Fife 
 6.5
 6.5


 Highland 
 3.0
 3.0


 West Lothian 
 6.4
 6.4


 Aberdeenshire 
 3.2
 3.2


 Edinburgh 
 18.6
 18.6


 Midlothian 
 4.4
 4.4


 East Lothian 
 
 7.2


 Aberdeenshire PPP2
 
 1.2


 East Renfrewshire PPP2
 
 


 Renfrewshire 
 
 


 North Lanarkshire 
 
 0.5


 Argyll and Bute 
 
 


 Fife PPP2
 
 


 East Ayrshire 
 
 


 Highland PPP2
 
 


 Midlothian PPP2
 
 


 North Ayrshire 
 
 


 South Lanarkshire 
 
 


 Stirling 
 
 


 IT
 
 


 Moray Council - Integrated Education Management Service
 1.8
 1.8


 Highland Council - IS/IT Services 
 4.1
 4.0


 Waste
 
 


 Argyll and Bute Waste Management
 4.3
 4.4


 Baldovie Waste to Energy Plant 
 2.7
 2.7


 Dumfries and Galloway Waste Management
 
 4.3


 Roads
 
 


 Angus A92 Road Upgrading
 
 2.6


 Other
 
 


 Perth and Kinross Council Office Accommodation 
 2.2
 2.2


 Water and Sewerage
 
 


 Inverness Main Drainage/Fort William Sewage Treatment 
 8.0
 7.6


 Tay Waste Water Project
 19.6
 18.9


 Aberdeen sewage and sludge treatment 
 14.1
 15.4


 Moray Coast Waste Water Project
 10.6
 10.9


 Almond Valley, Esk Valley and Seafield Sewage Scheme
 18.2
 18.5


 Levenmouth Purification Scheme
 8.5
 8.9


 Dalmuir Sewage Treatment
 7.1
 6.2


 Daldowie/Shieldhall Sludge Treatment Centres 
 15.3
 14.3


 Meadowhead Sewage Treatment 
 11.3
 11.4


 Further and Higher Education
 
 


 Stirling college
 0.6
 0.6


 West Lothian college
 2.8
 2.8


 North Ayrshire college
 1.3
 1.3


 Health¹
 
 


 NHS Dumfries and Galloway – Daycare and Maternity Unit
 1.4
 1.4


 NHS Highland Easter Ross County Community Hospital
 0.1
 1.1


 NHS Lanarkshire - Bupa Care Homes
 1.4
 1.4


 NHS Lanarkshire – Stonehouse Hospital
 0.4
 0.5


 NHS Lanarkshire – Hairmyres Hospital
 15.5
 17.1


 NHS Lanarkshire – Wishaw Hospital
 22.5
 23.1


 NHS Lanarkshire Acute Hospital HISS
 
 


 NHS Lothian - Ferryfield House
 0.9
 0.9


 NHS Lothian - Ellen’s Glen House
 0.9
 0.9


 NHS Lothian - Findlay House
 0.6
 0.6


 NHS Lothian – New Royal Infirmary Edinburgh
 39.1
 39.7


 NHS Lothian - HIS
 1.6
 2.0


 NHS Lothian - PACS
 1.1
 1.2


 NHS Lothian - Tippethill
 0.9
 0.9


 NHS Greater Glasgow - South Glasgow Hospital 210 bed DME unit
 2.7
 2.8


 NHS Greater Glasgow – South Glasgow Hospital HIS
 0.7
 0.8


 NHS Greater Glasgow Yorkhill HIS
 0.7
 0.7


 NHS Greater Glasgow - Gartnaval Royal Hospital
 
 


 NHS Greater Glasgow - Stobhill and Victoria ACADs
 
 


 NHS Tayside - small projects
 1.5
 1.3


 NHS Tayside - Carseview
 1.7
 1.8


 NHS Tayside – Forfar
 
 1.3


 NHS Argyll and Clyde – Larkfield
 1.4
 1.5


 NHS Ayshire and Arran – Crosshouse
 2.1
 2.1


 NHS Ayrshire and Arran - East Ayrshire Community Hospital Cumnock 
 1.5
 1.5


 NHS Highland - New Craigs Hospital
 3.3
 3.5


 NHS Grampian Kincardine Community Hospital
 1.9
 1.9


 NHS Argyll and Clyde – Mid Argyll Community Hospital
 
 


 NHS Greater Glasgow - Stobhill Forensic Unit
 
 


 Justice ²
 
 


 National Roads and Transport
 
 


 M6 DBFO
 20.5
 19.5


 M77/Glasgow Southern Orbital Road (SE/East Renfrewshire) 3
 0.7
 10.2


 Social Work
 
 


 SCRA - Integrated Information System 
 2.1
 2.6


 Other
 
 


 Police Force Training Centre, East Kilbride
 3.2
 3.3



  Notes:

  1. In health some of the smaller projects have been grouped together.

  2. The total cost for HM Prison Kilmarnock can be found in the question S1W-24355, answered on 10 April 2002, and information on the cost for HM Prison Kilmarnock is available in the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) Annual Reports which can be found at http://www.sps.gov.uk/Default.asp?menuid=230 . The total cost for HM Prison Addiewell can be found in the answer to question S2W-30009 on 5 December 2006, and details of the cost will be published in the SPS Annual Report and Accounts once the prison opens. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

  3. The M77/GSO is a joint project between the Executive, East Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire Councils

  Table B

  

Project Name
2007-08
(£ Million)

2008-09
(£ Million)

2009-10
(£ Million)

2010-11
(£ Million)

2011-12
(£ Million)



Local Authorities
 
 
 
 
 


Schools
 
 
 
 
 


Angus
0.8
3.0
5.2
5.4
5.5


South Ayrshire
0.3
6.4
8.7
8.9
9.1



  

 Project Name
2012-13
(£ Million)
2013-14
(£ Million)
2014-15
(£ Million)
2015-16
(£ Million)
2016-17
(£ Million)


 Local Authorities
 
 
 
 
 


 Schools
 
 
 
 
 


 Angus
 5.6
 5.6
 5.7
 5.8
 5.9


 South Ayrshire
 9.2
 9.4
 9.5
 9.7
 9.8



  

 Project Name
2017-18
(£ Million)
2018-19
(£ Million)
2019-20
(£ Million)
2020-21
(£ Million)
2021-22
(£ Million)


 Local Authorities
 
 
 
 
 


 Schools
 
 
 
 
 


 Angus
 6.0
 6.1
 6.2
 6.3
 6.4


 South Ayrshire
 10.0
 10.2
 10.3
 10.5
 10.7



  

 Project Name
2022-23
(£ Million)
2023-24
(£ Million)
2024-25
(£ Million)
2025-26
(£ Million)
2026-27
(£ Million)


 Local Authorities
 
 
 
 
 


 Schools
 
 
 
 
 


 Angus
 6.5
 6.6
 6.7
 6.8
 6.9


 South Ayrshire
 10.8
 11.0
 11.2
 11.4
 11.5



  

 Project Name
2027-28
(£ Million)
2028-29
(£ Million)
2029-30
(£ Million)
2030-31
(£ Million)
2031-32
(£ Million)


 Local Authorities
 
 
 
 
 


 Schools
 
 
 
 
 


 Angus
 7.0
 7.1
 7.2
 7.3
 7.4


 South Ayrshire
 11.7
 11.9
 12.1
 12.3
 12.5



  

 Project Name
2032-33
(£ Million)
2033-34
(£ Million)
2034-35
(£ Million)
2035-36
(£ Million)
2036-37
(£ Million)


 Local Authorities
 
 
 
 
 


 Schools
 
 
 
 
 


 Angus
 7.5
 7.6
 7.7
 7.8
 8.0


 South Ayrshire
 12.7
 12.9
 13.1
 13.3
 13.5



  

 Project Name
2037-38
(£ Million)
2038-39
(£ Million)
2039-40
(£ Million)


 Local Authorities
 
 
 


 Schools
 
 
 


 Angus
 5.7
 
 


 South Ayrshire
 13.8
 14.0
 5.9

Public Private Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in how many PPP contracts where land has been disposed of by local authorities that land has been transferred to the developer for disposal of surplus.

Mr Tom McCabe: This information is not routinely collected. Local authorities, as public sector procuring bodies, are required to demonstrate that the PPP projects they are undertaking represent value for money as compared to a conventional procurement approach. They are also bound by the duty of Best Value as stated in the Local Government in Scotland Act (2003). Section 74 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 allows for disposal of land at less than market value but only in specific circumstances.

Scottish Water

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what efficiency savings Scottish Water made in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005-06 and what these savings were used to fund, broken down into (a) Scottish Water-related projects, (b) other Executive projects and (c) projects undertaken by other Executive agencies.

Sarah Boyack: The responsibility for assessing the efficiencies delivered by Scottish Water lies with the Water Industry Commission. In its Cost and Performance Report 2003-06 , it calculated that for the last four-year regulatory period 2002-06, Scottish Water delivered nearly £1 billion of efficiency savings. This is a record for the UK water industry.

  These savings have been passed through to customers in the form of lower charges. Over the four years, average household bills were in total £211 lower than they would otherwise have been. Looking to the future, these efficiency gains mean that customers will pay the lowest overall reasonable cost for the services they receive.

  Further details of the efficiency savings can be sought from the Water Industry Commission and its Cost and performance report 2003-06 at:

  http://www.watercommissioner.co.uk/Documents/Costs_Performance_Report_03-06.pdf.

Statistics

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, under the proposed UK Statistics and Registration Services Bill, what the position of the Chief Statistician for Scotland will be in relation to (a) Scottish ministers, (b) the National Statistician and (c) the proposed statistics board and to which organisation or individual the Chief Statistician for Scotland will be responsible.

Mr Tom McCabe: Subject to the passage of the necessary legislative consent motion (LCM), the Statistics and Registration Service Bill will give the Statistics Board a role in setting and monitoring the standards of Scottish statistics.

  If the LCM is passed, the chief statistician in the Scottish Executive will be accountable to Scottish ministers as he is now.

  In accordance with the current National Statistics Framework, the chief statistician is professionally accountable to the national statistician.

  The bill does not set out the position of the national statistician or the board in relation to chief statisticians of the devolved administrations or the head of professions of UK government departments. The framework, which currently outlines roles and responsibilities, will be reviewed.